Portsmouth school uniform: Schools told to allow parents to use non-branded clothes to save money

Families have warned that expensive uniform requirements are costing ‘hundreds of pounds’ per child with many people forced into debt or go hungry to afford school clothing.

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the city council, Maria Oyegbile said it was already out of reach for many parents – and worse as the cost of living is also rising.

‘I have four children who went to school who needed to buy branded school uniforms,’ she said. ‘It was not easy on the family financially and on many occasions, I had to make use of my credit cards.

‘Most parents already have a lot of financial demands on their income, for example paying rent, which is ever-increasing; utility bills, which have increased significantly in recent times; and providing food and nutrition for their children.'

Her speech was made in support of a motion proposed by Labour councillor Yinka Adeniran which said ‘there can be no justification’ for branded uniform policies at the moment.

‘We have many residents telling us stories about going hungry so they can afford to buy school uniforms for their children, she said. 'A family should not have to go hungry to pay for unnecessary costs when there are cheaper alternatives.’

Her motion, which passed unanimously, will require the council to write to schools ‘requesting they stop the use of mandatory branded items where unbranded items can be bought at more affordable prices’ and to expand provision of free school meals.

Conservative councillor Terry Norton, the group’s opposition spokesman for education, said there was an ‘over-reliance’ on uniforms.

‘Uniform does have a place,’ he said. ‘The problem is that it's not the be all and end all and in many schools it's used as a weapon against young people.

‘There's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a young child in an isolation room because their parents can't afford to buy them newer shoes.’

Guidance has been issued by the government which says that cost should be the main focus of schools when considering its policies and that each one should review the cost effectiveness of its uniform.

This followed a seven-year campaign by The Children's Society which warned that expensive uniform was hampering educational progress and culminating of the introduction of a new law in May last year.

Ash Vaghela, the headteacher of Portsdown Primary School, said there ‘is a place for uniforms’ but said he fully supported the council’s approach.

'We give our parents the choice and have done since I joined in 2015,' he said. 'We have a branded uniform but they can buy everything they need from a supermarket if they want to.

'This is a big issue for parents, and it has been for a number of years, but it's only become more acute recently with the cost of living going up.

'There's particular concern among our Year 6 parents with the gap to secondary school in terms of uniform requirements and cost.'

Responding to concerns about the cost of school clothing, Hive Portsmouth opened a ‘uniform share store’ which has allowed hundreds of parents to buy second-hand uniform at cheaper prices.